Tiny red worms taking over my freshwater tank

[Seekertom]

I have a 5 gal yard tank just laying around outside collecting stuff to see under microscope. But my 10 gal indoors goldfish tank had same thing in it several months ago, killing all the fish almost overnite.

Tiny, hairlike red worms that clump together all along tank sides and on anything floating around. Some are more than an inch long. Reminds me of angel hair spaghetti...

Need help identifying, getting rid of them.
Thanks, st

 

[FJB]

I don't know where you are located, but those are insect larvae. Excellent to use as live food for all kinds of fishes, adding just a few at a time to an aquarium. Lucky you! What was in the aquarium before they appeared?

 

[Seekertom]

Thanks for the info. Dunno enough about it to say naw, but hard to imagine such dense clumps of insect larva... besides, 1st time I found a couple in my inside gold Fisk tank... next day tank looked like pics I posted here, and all gfs were dead. This after I added a gallon of rain barrel greenish water, for the mosquito larva for food...
In the outside tank, only see them at night. Tank last used maybe 4 years ago, gravel n debris just left there in tank, plus whatever rain water. This time found them bc restarting microscope interest as diversion, hoping for daphinia, copepods etc.

 

[fishorama]

Eww, I'm going to vote tubifex worms, I hate them in all forms. Where do you live? What live foods have you fed lately? New fish?

 

[Seekertom]

West palm beach, fl.
These look like alien medusa's! I haven't done anything to tank..
It's just been sitting outside in the yard for years. At one time, gold fish. Guppies, who knows, but def fresh water.
Right now, bed of gravel covered by layers of decaying leaves, pine straw etc. Can also see bunch of daphnia in the water, springtails around the edges.
I can only imagine, being the hallo season, while the moon hides behind a cloud, a whip like red oozing tentical reaching out, grabbing some unsuspecting creature at the waters edge...

 

[Seekertom]

Additional info...
I have several garbage cans around used as planters for aquatic plants. Most have a couple goldfish for skeeter control agents. Just started to notice the same red medusa tendrils in a lot of these cans too. Same writhing masses along the edges, and non have ever been used previously for aquariums. Gfs introduced after seeing worms, so worms not caused by the fish... just coincidental.
Still thinking alien attacks level 1!